Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki said that the state’s minimum salary for public employees will be raised from N30,000 to N40,000.
He made the news during his speech at the Workers’ Day celebration in 2022.
According to the federal government, the current minimum pay for governmental officials is N30,000.
The Governor, who stated that he would have liked to pay more, expressed optimism that the little increase would mitigate the impact of the country’s inflation.
“As we all know, a minimum of N30,000 can hardly maintain a family; it will be unethical and thoughtless of us to continue to pretend that we are unaware that our workers are suffering,” he says.
“The government of Edo State has also decided to review the minimum for Edo workers from N30,000 to N40,000 a month.
“Undoubtedly, Edo is the first state since the current outbreak of coronavirus to take this initiative.
“Even though we would have loved to pay more, we hope that this little adjustment would enable workers to cushion the impact of the inflation that we have faced. There is no doubt that the financial implications will be heavy and put another burden on the government.
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“But as a government, we are to make the sacrifices, so that the workers can live a better life. Your welfare is our number one priority,” he said.
Obaseki, who lamented the hardship the state pensioners were going through as a result of the high cost of food and other items in the country, said that his administration had tried to provide support for the state’s senior citizens.
“I am particularly interested in our senior citizens because they are one of the most vulnerable in our society, we took interest in payments of outstanding pensions to our pensioners in spite of the fact that these pensions were held by the previous administration.
“In view of the prevailing economic circumstances, I have now approved, effective this May that the agreement we have reached with the Union of Pensioners that the harmonized amount would be paid from May 2022.
In his address, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Odion Olaye, called on the federal government to put machinery in place to arrest the high rate of insecurity, instability in the economy, unemployment, and hunger as it is capable of disintegrating the nation.
He made the announcement while delivering his speech at the 2022 Workers’ Day celebration.
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The minimum wage currently earned by civil servants as pegged by the federal government is N30,000.
The Governor, who said he would have loved to pay more, expressed hope that the little upward review would cushion the impact of the inflation in the country.
According to him, “As we all know, the minimum of N30,000 can barely sustain a family, it will be immoral and mindless of us to continue to pretend that we do not know that our workers are suffering.
“The government of Edo State has now decided to review the minimum for Edo workers from N30,000 to N40,000 a month.
“Undoubtedly, Edo is the first state since the current outbreak of coronavirus to take this initiative.
“Even though we would have loved to pay more, we hope that this little adjustment would enable workers to cushion the impact of the inflation that we have faced. There is no doubt that the financial implications will be heavy and put another burden on the government.
“But as a government, we are to make the sacrifices, so that the workers can live a better life. Your welfare is our number one priority,” he said.
